MUNICH — RB Leipzig can achieve their “season goal” of returning to the UEFA Champions League as the top-four race in the Bundesliga comes to a head this Saturday.
Ole Werner’s Leipzig, in third, are at sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, while Hoffenheim, in fifth, host fourth-placed Stuttgart.
With Bayern Munich having already clinched the Bundesliga title, Borussia Dortmund last week became the second side to ensure Champions League qualification, AFP reported.
Leipzig, who missed out on European competition altogether for the first time last season, can book their spot in the Champions League with victory over Leverkusen this weekend.
Coach Werner knows his team – who is five points clear of Stuttgart and Hoffenheim and a further two ahead of Leverkusen – are in the box seat but warned his charges against complacency.
“Our season goal is only truly achieved when we reach it,” Werner told reporters.
“We’re hugely motivated, that’s obvious… (But) we understand we’re facing a team who won’t be easy to play against.”
Defeat for Leverkusen could mean trailing the Champions League spots by five points with two games remaining, leaving their hopes hanging by a thread.
Hoffenheim and Stuttgart are level on points and should one side emerge victorious from their meeting on Saturday, that team will have one foot in the top four.
Stuttgart is already through to the German Cup final, where they will try and defend their title against Bayern, but coach Sebastian Hoeness said Thursday his side wanted to “add that extra something special”.
“Two years ago, we experienced how wonderful it is to play in the great stadiums of Europe, against the best teams in the world,” he said. “And we want to achieve that again.”
Currently, only a top-four finish will guarantee Champions League football next season. But should the Bundesliga emerge ahead of LaLiga in the UEFA coefficient thanks to Bayern and Freiburg, who are in the Champions League and Europa League semi-finals, Germany will gain a fifth spot.
